Day 5: Sending Out the Twelve - Mission Instructions

Reading: Matthew 10

Listen to: Matthew chapter 10

Historical Context

Matthew 10 is the second of five major discourse sections in Matthew’s Gospel (the first being the Sermon on the Mount in chapters 5-7). It is the Mission Discourse, and it represents a watershed moment in the Gospel narrative: the authority that has been concentrated in Jesus alone is now extended to the Twelve. They are sent out (apostellō, from which we get “apostle”) as his authorized representatives, carrying his message, his power, and his vulnerability into the towns and villages of Galilee.

The chapter opens with a formal list of the Twelve (10:2-4), paired in twos as they were sent out (Mark 6:7 confirms they went “two by two”). The pairing itself has practical and theological significance. Deuteronomy 19:15 required two witnesses to establish a matter; sending disciples in pairs lent their testimony legal validity. The list names Simon Peter first in every New Testament apostolic list, confirming his recognized leadership role. The inclusion of “Matthew the tax collector” (10:3) is unique to this Gospel and may represent the evangelist’s own humble self-identification – where the other Gospels simply say “Matthew” or “Levi,” this Gospel adds the shameful occupational title, as if to say: this is what I was when Jesus called me.

The initial instructions (10:5-15) are striking in their restrictiveness. The Twelve are told to go “nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (10:5-6). This limitation is sometimes seen as contradicting the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19 (“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations”), but it reflects the salvation-historical reality that the gospel must first be offered to Israel before extending to the nations. Paul understood this order: “to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). The restriction is temporary and strategic, not permanent and exclusionary.

The apostles are to travel light – no gold, no silver, no copper in their belts, no bag for the journey, no extra tunic, no sandals, no staff. This radical simplicity served multiple purposes. Practically, it made them dependent on the hospitality of those who received their message, weaving together proclamation and community. Symbolically, it echoed Israel’s departure from Egypt, when they left in haste with no time to prepare (Exodus 12:11). Theologically, it demonstrated that the Kingdom’s power resides in the message and the messenger’s God, not in material resources. The apostles are to be walking demonstrations of the trust Jesus commanded in Matthew 6: “Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink.”

Beginning at verse 16, the discourse expands beyond the immediate Galilean mission to address the long-term reality of discipleship in a hostile world. “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (10:16). The animal imagery is carefully chosen. Sheep among wolves are defenseless and dependent on their shepherd. Serpents (phronimoi hōs hoi opheis) are prudent, alert, and aware of danger – the Greek phronimos denotes practical wisdom, not craftiness. Doves (akeraioi hōs hai peristerai) are akeraioi – “unmixed,” “pure,” without hidden agendas or deceptive motives. The combination is striking: Jesus’ followers must be neither naive nor cunning, but clear-eyed about danger while remaining morally transparent.

The warnings about persecution (10:17-25) are detailed and specific: flogging in synagogues, arraignment before governors and kings, betrayal by family members. These predictions were fulfilled with precision in the decades following Jesus’ ascension. The book of Acts records Paul being flogged in synagogues (Acts 22:19), Peter and John before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4), Paul before Felix and Festus and Agrippa (Acts 24-26), and Stephen murdered with Saul’s approval. The prediction that “brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death” (10:21) was tragically realized in the Roman persecutions, where family members sometimes informed on their Christian relatives to save themselves.

In the midst of these dire warnings, Jesus provides remarkable assurances. “When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (10:19-20). This promise does not encourage laziness in preparation but assures the persecuted disciple that in the moment of ultimate crisis, God himself will provide the words. The early church testimonies bear this out – the speeches of Stephen (Acts 7), Peter (Acts 2, 4), and Paul (Acts 22, 26) display a wisdom and power that exceeded their natural abilities.

The saying “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (10:28) is among the most bracing in the New Testament. It introduces a hierarchy of fears that reorients the entire discussion of persecution. Human enemies, at their most extreme, can only kill the body. God alone has authority over the eternal destiny of the whole person. This is not a threat but a liberation. When the fear of God properly occupies its central place, all other fears are relativized. The disciple who truly fears God has nothing left to fear from any human power.

Immediately following this sobering statement, Jesus offers one of the tenderest images in the Gospels: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (10:29-31). The assarion (penny) was the smallest Roman copper coin. Sparrows were the cheapest item in the marketplace – sold as a meager food source for the poor. Yet even these insignificant creatures do not fall without the Father’s knowledge. The Greek phrase aneu tou patros hymōn can be translated “without your Father” or “apart from your Father’s will” – the point is that God’s sovereign care extends to the smallest and seemingly most insignificant events in creation. If God attends to sparrows, how much more to those who bear his image and carry his message?

The chapter concludes with hard sayings about the cost of discipleship (10:34-39). “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” This does not contradict the Beatitudes’ blessing on peacemakers; it acknowledges the reality that radical allegiance to Jesus will inevitably create division, even within families. The “sword” is the division that occurs when some accept the gospel and others reject it. Jesus demands an allegiance that supersedes even the most sacred human bonds: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me” (10:37). The final paradox – “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (10:39) – encapsulates the entire logic of the Kingdom. Self-preservation leads to loss; self-giving leads to life. This is not masochism but the deepest truth about how human beings were made to live: in self-giving love that mirrors the self-giving God.

Key Themes

• Delegated Authority – The Twelve receive Jesus’ own authority to heal, cast out demons, and proclaim the Kingdom. The mission of the church is an extension of the mission of Jesus, empowered by his Spirit.
• Wise Vulnerability – Jesus sends his followers into danger fully aware of the risks. They are not to be reckless, but they are not to be paralyzed by fear either. Prudence and purity, courage and trust must coexist.
• The Providence of the Father – In the midst of persecution, the disciple is held by a Father who numbers the hairs of every head and notices every fallen sparrow. No suffering falls outside his sovereign care.

Connections

• Old Testament Roots: Exodus 12:11 (Israel’s urgent departure from Egypt), Micah 7:6 (“a man’s enemies are the men of his own house,” quoted by Jesus in 10:36), Deuteronomy 19:15 (two witnesses), Jeremiah 1:7-9 (God putting words in the prophet’s mouth).
• New Testament Echoes: Acts 1:8 (witnesses to the ends of the earth), Acts 4-5 (apostles before the Sanhedrin), 2 Timothy 1:7-8 (God has not given us a spirit of fear), Philippians 1:21 (“to live is Christ, and to die is gain”), Revelation 2:10 (“Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life”).
• Parallel Passages: Mark 6:7-13 and Luke 9:1-6 (sending of the Twelve, briefer accounts), Luke 10:1-20 (sending of the Seventy-Two, a later mission), Luke 12:2-12 (parallel sayings about fearless confession).

Reflection Questions

1. Jesus sent the Twelve with his authority but without material resources (10:9-10). What does this dependence teach about the relationship between faith and provision in mission? How does this challenge modern assumptions about what is needed for effective ministry?
2. “Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (10:16). In your own context, what does it look like to be both prudent and pure? Can you think of a situation where you erred too far toward one at the expense of the other?
3. Jesus says not to fear those who can kill the body but to fear God alone (10:28), and then immediately assures us that God counts the hairs on our heads (10:30). How do these two truths – the fearfulness of God and the tenderness of God – work together to produce courage?

Prayer

Father, you sent your Son into the world, and he sent the Twelve, and he sends us. We confess that we are often more like sheep pretending to be wolves than sheep trusting our Shepherd. We fear human opposition more than we fear you. We cling to our lives rather than losing them for your sake. Give us the wisdom of serpents and the purity of doves. Remind us that you number the hairs on our heads and see every sparrow that falls. Make us bold to confess your Son before others, trusting that he will confess us before you. In the name of Jesus, who lost his life that we might find ours. Amen.